Voting in 717 UPs begins

Voting in 717 Union Parishads (UP) under 44 districts began at 8 this morning to elect chairmen and members of the local body.

The voting will continue till 4 pm without any break. The government has declared a public holiday today in the areas undergoing the UP elections.

A total of 3,254 chairmen candidates are contesting in the fifth phase of polls, over 27, 000 candidates are vying against general member posts and over 7,000 candidates for reserved member posts.

Around 1.10 crore people are eligible to exercise their franchise in the 717 UPs of 86 upazilas. Out of 717 unions, chairmen have been elected uncontested in 42 unions. All of them are Awami League candidates. So far, the number of Awami League supported chairmen elected uncontested reached 192.

All preparations have been taken to make the polls free and fair. Around 1.5 lakh members of the law enforcement agencies, including police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) along with executive and judicial magistrates are working in the field.

Beginning in March 22, the elections to around 2,600 UPs have already been completed in four phases. The sixth and the last phase of UP election will be held on June 4.